Career Pathway
Build, launch, and operate spacecraft you can hold in two hands.
Typical journey
3–6 years
Minimum degree
Bachelor's
Salary range (USD)
$80K–$185K
Searches / month
4,200
SmallSat and CubeSat engineers design, integrate, test, and operate satellites ranging from 1U (10 cm cube, ~1.3 kg) to 12U and ESPA-class (~25 kg), delivering Earth observation, communications, science, and technology demonstration on budgets once reserved for instrument components on large satellites. The proliferation of commercial launch (Rocket Lab Electron, SpaceX Transporter rideshare, ISRO PSLV, Exolaunch, D-Orbit) made CubeSats the entry point for dozens of countries' first national satellites. The job is uniquely full-stack: you may design the structure, select the radio, write the flight software, and sit console on launch day.
Relevant coursework: orbital mechanics, spacecraft systems, RF/antenna fundamentals, embedded systems, structures. The single most important thing you can do in undergrad is join your university CubeSat team — Cal Poly PolySat, Cornell CUSat, KAIST SaTRec, TU Delft Delfin, etc.
A master's with a CubeSat thesis demonstrates you can take a satellite from PDR to launch. Cal Poly SLO's dedicated SmallSat curriculum, TU Delft CubeSat lab, University of Surrey SSBV track, and Aalto University Finland are well-regarded programs.
Planet Labs, Spire Global, Satellogic, Capella Space, HawkEye 360, GomSpace (Aalborg Denmark), NanoAvionics (Vilnius Lithuania), EnduroSat (Sofia Bulgaria), ISIS BV (Delft Netherlands), AAC Microtec/Clyde Space (UK/Sweden). Student CubeSat programs at NASA CSLI also count.
First 2–3 years: own a subsystem (EPS, ADCS, comms, payload), integrate and test the complete satellite, write operating procedures, and support launch campaign. Most SmallSat shops expect you to own multiple subsystems simultaneously — generalism is rewarded.
Senior engineers at Planet, Spire, or constellation operators design the next generation of spacecraft buses, architect multi-plane constellations, or become chief engineer for an entire product line. A few move into technical BD or mission architect roles.
US-centric estimates. International compensation varies; agency-civilian roles tend to cap lower, commercial roles higher.
Entry level (0–3 yrs)
$80K
Median annual (USD)
Mid-career (4–8 yrs)
$125K
Median annual (USD)
Senior (9+ yrs)
$185K
Median annual (USD)
Concrete career arcs from astronauts, engineers, and operators in our database.
🇰🇷 South Korea · KARI
KAIST BS Mechanical Engineering → KAIST PhD Biomedical Engineering → Korean astronaut selection 2006 → Soyuz TMA-12 to ISS (April 2008), Korea's first astronaut. KAIST's integrated aerospace-engineering culture now feeds the Satrec Initiative and KARI CubeSat programs that are building on her legacy.
View profile
🇧🇷 Brazil · AEB
ITA (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica) BS Aeronautical Engineering → US Naval Postgraduate School MS → FAB fighter pilot → NASA Group 16 (1998) → Soyuz TMA-8 to ISS (March 2006), Brazil's first astronaut. INPE's thriving CubeSat programs trace their inspiration to Brazil's first spaceflight.
View profilePrograms and universities with strong pipelines into this discipline.
USA
BS/MS Aerospace Engineering — SmallSat Systems
Originated the CubeSat standard (Twiggs & Puig-Suari, 1999); the PolySat heritage team has launched a dozen CubeSats
Netherlands
MSc Aerospace Engineering — Space Systems track
Delfin CubeSat team; partner with ISIS BV; strong ESA connections
UK
MSc Satellite Communications Engineering / Space Technology
SSTL heritage; more alumni at SmallSat companies than any European institution
Finland
MSc Space Science and Technology
Aalto-1 CubeSat; Finnish NewSpace ecosystem (BioOrbit, ICEYE heritage)
South Korea
MS/PhD Aerospace Engineering — SaTRec
Satrec Initiative spun out of KAIST; Korea's premier satellite engineering pipeline
India
BTech/MTech Aerospace Engineering
IIST is ISRO's own university; IIT Bombay feeds Pixxel, Dhruva Space, and GalaxEye
Japan
MSc/PhD Engineering — CubeSat programs
Active CubeSat research; feeds JAXA and Axelspace
Australia
BS/MSc Aerospace Engineering — SmallSat track
Fleet Space and Inovor pipelines; Australian Space Agency funded programs
Not a scholarship but provides free rideshare launches to qualifying university teams — the most valuable resource in the field
Patti Grace Smith Fellowship Org.
Space systems and CubeSat research is fundable under engineering programs
Planet Labs Engineering Internship
Planet Labs
Spire Global
GomSpace
Aalborg, Denmark; the world's largest CubeSat component manufacturer
Good fit if
Bad fit if
The hardest part
The full-stack nature cuts both ways. You can design and launch a spacecraft in three years and hold it in your hands — but you will also be responsible for every subsystem failure, and there is no specialist to call when the ADCS goes anomalous at 2 AM during LEOP. The combination of extreme ownership and limited resources forces a kind of rapid expertise-building that either thrills or exhausts engineers.
Employers and agencies hiring for this role outside North America.
Europe
Europe has the most diverse SmallSat component ecosystem globally, anchored by GomSpace and ISIS BV
India
India's private SmallSat sector exploded post-2020 IN-SPACe reform; Pixxel's hyperspectral constellation is the flagship commercial program
Japan
UAE
MBRSC's MBZ-SAT (2023) 200 kg Earth observation satellite demonstrates UAE's growing self-sufficiency
Australia
South Korea
Israel
Brazil
Brazil is the most active CubeSat nation in Latin America; INPE's program feeds into a growing commercial sector
Related careers that overlap in skills, training, or industry.
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Own the interfaces. Make the whole vehicle work.
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21 career pathways with milestones, salaries, and real astronaut journeys.